Sands, Diana (1934–1973)
Sands, Diana (1934–1973)
African-American actress. Born in 1934; died of cancer on September 21, 1973.
Diana Sands created the role of Beneatha in Lorraine Hansberry 's Raisin in the Sun for the Broadway stage and the Hollywood screen. On Broadway, she also appeared in Blues for Mr. Charlie, The Owl and the Pussycat, We Bombed in New Haven, Gingham Dog, Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death, and Tiger at the Gate. She received a Theater World Award for her performance in Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright. Wrote a friend, Jane Galvin Lewis , in Ms magazine in December 1973: "Diana said good-bye quietly without many of us who loved her even knowing that she was sick, until almost the end. The only thing one can forget is that she, as a whole person, is gone—all else we'll remember."